Live to Love
by AmberLiz
Summary: Going to be a collection of one-shots all based around Dom/Ari. Fifth story: Combat Training.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Well, here we go. It's going to be a collection of one-shots about Dom and Ari, this first one is about Halloween.**

**Author name: **AmberLiz.

**One-shot 1.**

**Name: **Halloween.

**Pairing: **Dom/Ari

**Summary:**

When the gang goes to one of the world's most terrifying haunted houses, Ariadne owes her boyfriend, Cobb, the answer to an important question.

**Rating: **T.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inception or the Erebus haunted house.

**I see my face in the mirror and go, 'I'm a Halloween costume? That's what they think of me?  
**_**Drew Carey~**_

**Halloween**

"So, lovebirds," Eames started, "How about you two join me and Artie on a run through the _Erebus?_"

"What's the Erebus?" Ariadne asked as the four of them left the restaurant. They had all been on a celebration trip to Michigan after Arthur and Eames had left the extraction business and were coming to live in L.A near the Cobb family. As for Ariadne and Dom being lovebirds, it was a short while after the job that Ariadne couldn't bring herself to board that damn plane back to Paris and Dom was slowly missing her more and more. And the instant James and Phillipa had gotten lost in a clothing store, Ariadne had recognized them immediately and helped them find their frantic father.

And just like that, fate had caught them in its unbreakable hold. Their eyes had met. And they got the same chills that had occurred when Ariadne had strolled down the stairs in the college. They couldn't bring themselves to ignore each other again. And the more time they spent together, the closer they became. It wasn't a therapy lesson of getting to know each other anymore, there was such a static feeling. And when they started dating, it came as no surprise.

"It's probably just a bar, we should get back to the hotel, Miles and the kids are probably wondering where we are." Dom suggested, getting that feeling that it was better to get the hell out of there before Eames dragged them into a hole they'd have to climb out of.

"Aw, come on, let me tell the gal what it is at least before you whisk her away."

"Oh dear god-"

"It's one of the world's most terrifying haunted houses." Arthur stated.

Cobb stopped his protests. "Really?"

"Four stories high, and pitch black." Eames added "With all the stuff they add in, if you go all the way through, you get your money back."

"Well that sounds fun." Said Ariadne "I'm in."

"Will you be joining us, Cobb?" Arthur questioned.

"I'll call Miles, tell him me and Ari will be going back late."

Eames grinned "Right choice, mate."

* * *

"Save our spot." Cobb said to Eames and Arthur. "I have something to ask Ari."

"So what's up?" Ariadne asked as he led her away from them in line. He leaned against the wall, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You still haven't given me an answer." Ariadne froze, biting her lip. A few weeks before, Cobb had asked if she would think about moving in with his family. The decision was taking her so long to make. She loved him, and James and Phillipa, but she was so scared of replacing Mal. She wanted to move in with him, wanted to be a part of his life, wanted to be with them when Phillipa and James grew up. And he wanted her with him, felt lonely when they were apart, and felt joy when he saw her again.

"Okay, I know. You deserve an answer." She sucked in a breath. "If we can make it through this haunted house without running out screaming, I will give you a straight answer."

"And if we do, run out screaming?"

"Then you'll give me a few more days."

"I have to warn you, I am not running out screaming, I've gone through _very_ terrifying things back in my dream-sharing days." Dom stated.

Ari stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. "Let's get back to the boys."

* * *

"Ready gang?" Eames asked, looking to be on the edge of his toes as they entered the dark hallways. Ariadne and Dom held each other's hands as a chill started to creep over their bones. **(AN: Please note, I have not been to Erebus. I'm basing this off of last year's website footage.)** A rumble was echoing around the walls, like a loud growl. None of them had started panicking. And then, the lights started flashing on and off rapidly, Arthur jumped right towards Eames, Ariadne involuntarily tightened her grip on Dom's hand. The lights revealed a jagged crack in the wall.

"I think we have to go through there!" Arthur shouted over the flicking and rumbling noises. He snuck through the crack first, Ariadne right after, and then Cobb, then Eames. Ariadne caught her breath after a moment.

"Okay, that… wasn't too bad." She commented. Dom put his arm around her.

"Scared?" He whispered, a playful challenge in his voice.

"Never." She grinned.

The group continued on, the rumbling getting louder until a beastly figure appeared from the shadows, beady eyes fixed on them. If the lights were on, anyone would've seen how fake it was, but in the dark, it looked very real. The four of them screamed, jumping back out of shock. They all linked their arms together, and Eames, being in the lead, pulled them all forwards, breaking into a pace that would for sure hit them all against a wall. And indeed it did.

"Dammit, don't run, Eames." Cobb growled, using his free hand to check for bruises on his head. "Are you okay Ari?"

"When we get out of here," she hissed, unable to check for her own wounds, as she was linked between Arthur and Cobb. "I am going to punch Eames."

"I get slapped by birdies almost once a week." Eames chuckled "I'm used to it."

He led them forwards again, thankfully not running this time. A sudden beam of light caught them all, and a loud honk split through the air as a train car rammed forward and stopped before it hit them. They jumped back, Ari glancing frantically at Cobb, knowing how he felt about trains. He shook his head.

"I'm fine." He whispered.

"How the hell did they even get a train car in here?" Arthur exclaimed.

"Don't question Erebus, you'll only get confused." Eames sighed.

* * *

As they continued down the dark hallways, a large, humanoid-thing sprang out at them. Speaking in a raspy voice, it screeched "How many?"

"F-four…" Arthur stuttered, the thing being closest to him.

It took on an emotion that could be seen as cheery and exclaimed "Alright les go!"

It led them through a room dimly lit with red lights, screams of the tortured echoed around, as if there were people begging for help. They were brought onto an old, creaky elevator that took them up one floor.

"Alright, everyone go up against the stone wall, and scoot along it, don't move off the stone." It commanded before skittering away to meet the next group.

They inched along the walls, feeling hot air pressed upon them like heavy breathing, demonic laughter heard around them. Another humanoid leaped up to meet them, this one had a deeper voice. It stood directly in front of Ariadne.

"What's your name?" It piped up. In the faint light, all she could see was the outline of a masked face.

"I-it's Ariadne…" She squeaked, leaning closer to Dom.

The demon tilted its head. "But that's not _my_ name."

Her fear was replaced with confusion. "What?" But the demon giggled and leaped away.

"You know, I'm not a fan of those things." Cobb muttered. The stone wall turned into a normal hallway, which they eagerly picked up the pace to go down. Long, curtain-like things dangled from the ceiling and brushed against their skin. In the darkness, large jaws appeared and caught them in its rubbery grip. The four of them screamed and clung to each other before the jaws let them go and slid off into the darkness.

Their screams turned into hysterical laughter as they linked their arms together again and tugged each other forwards, desperate to get away from it.

A third demon ran towards them.

"Dammit, not again."

"Right this way." It rasped, leading them to a green light room.

They smiled, seeing the eerie green light, but their faces turned to horror as they felt something oozing around their feet.

"The floor is all mushy!" Arthur yelled, trying to leap back. Somehow the goopy material enclosed them as they sunk down.

"What is this?" Ariadne shrieked. "It's hardening!"

"That's what she said."

"I will _murder_ you, Eames!"

Then they all seemed to drop onto stable ground, as if they had gone down a floor. They ran through a red-lit archway into another dark tunnel before slowing down.

"How freaking big is this place?" Arthur panted.

"I don't even know!" Eames exclaimed.

"I hear something." Cobb said. The four listened carefully, it was almost a shrieking noise, but mutated. The move forward, seeing as they couldn't just sit there. A giant, zombie-like King Kong reached towards them in the darkness. Ariadne screamed and sprinted away. Dom soon following, seeing as they had forgotten to link their arms together, Arthur and Eames had no choice but to follow.

"My spiders are hungry…" A voice hissed. Ariadne screamed and froze in place. Like many other girls, she hated spiders, and everything those horrible beasts did.

Dom caught up to her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her forwards, and past many giant spiders. Of course he knew she would freeze on the spot, as her boyfriend, he knew everything she feared, spiders were on the top of her list. Arthur and Eames ran up to them.

"Spiders? Really?" Ari gasped, clinging to Dom.

"How can you hate the poor things, they were fake anyways." The group stared at Eames.

"How can you like spiders?" Arthur questioned.

"Just let it go." Cobb growled "I think we might be close to the exit." They moved forwards, through blasts of hot air, mist, and flashing lights before they came to a stairwell. They ran up it, eager to see what lay ahead. It was a big gray room with TV sets and a counter full of free energy drinks, with employees waiting to give them their money back for making it through.

"We made it!" Eames yelled, laughing hysterically.

* * *

"Miss Ariadne, I believe you owe me an answer-"

"Yes." She cut Cobb off. They were walking back to their hotel, after Eames and Arthur had gone back to their own.

"Really, you'll move in with me?" He wasn't sure he believed his own ears.

Ariadne smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he did the same with her waist. "Yes." She repeated, pressing her lips to his.

**Authors Note: Oh how corny of me. I can't believe I finished that. Hm. Well, tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ahehe, this is a short OS, and here's the low-down: I got bored. Got on my computer. Wrote this. So don't kill me if it turns out terrible.**

**Author name: **AmberLiz.

**One-shot 2**

**Name: **Hush

**Pairing: **Dom/Ari

**Summary:**

Four times he told her hush, and once she told him to.

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer: **Inception belongs to Christopher Nolan.

"**When I saw you, I was afraid to meet you... When I met you, I was afraid to kiss you... When I kissed you, I was afraid to love you... Now that I love you, I'm afraid to lose you.****"**

**~Unknown~**

**The first time he said it, he was joking.**

"He's going to strike out." Arthur sang jokingly as Eames sauntered over to a tan brunette, fully intent on using some cheesy pick up line.

"I don't know, she looks drunk, drunk enough to go with _Eames_." Cobb pointed out.

"All the booze in the world could not blur that image." Ariadne joked.

"Shh-Shush, something is happening!" Arthur quieted them. The brunette appeared to be giggling, but with their table so far off, the trio couldn't understand what was happening. Then Eames murmured something with a half-smile. The brunette's face turned angry before she huffed and walked away, disappearing into the crowd of the bar.

"Oooooh, five bucks, Cobb." Arthur smirked as Dom grimaced and handed him the money he had 'bet'.

"You never told me you were a gambler," Ariadne whispered to Cobb. "And a terrible one at that."

He smiled at her. "Oh, hush."

**The second time, he was being protective.**

"The sitter fucking broke down, her friends told her ghost stories and now she's too scared to watch them all night." Cobb grumbled as he and Ari moved quickly down the streets.

"It's fine, we can plan something another night." Ariadne pointed out as she moved close to his side.

The pair swerved to the side to move down an alleyway shortcut, the cold night air piercing the skin on their faces. She looked up at his face, swearing to never let him participate in No-Shave-November again. Suddenly his expression turned surprised.

He grabbed her arm and they both ducked behind a dumpster in the alley.

"Wha-"

"Hush." He murmured, staring around the side of the dumpster. The air was filled with cold cackling and eerie footsteps until a gang passed by the dumpster they hid behind. Cobb didn't let go of Ariadne until they had passed.

"Anymore alleyway shortcuts," Ariadne hissed "And I'll hit you."

**The third time, it was in anger.**

"Look, you're just being ridiculous!" Ariadne snapped as she stood her ground in the living room with Dom pacing in front of her.

He whipped around to face her. "I'm being ridiculous? _I'm _being ridiculous?" He stormed a few steps closer to her. "Have you lost your ability to even see? I'm trying to tell you, this guy is insane!"

"Oh, did you go and look up his background or something?" She retorted, "He's just a coworker, and the project is almost done, we won't have to work together much longer."

"I was just a coworker once, remember that?"

"Oh my god, why can't you just trust me to take care of myself this once?"

"Oh hush, you know it's not that I don't trust you, I don't trust _him_!"

"Alright, you know that secretary, at your office, she's got eyes for you. You don't see me getting all over your case about it!"

"Okay, that is different, I'm never working with her!"

"Dom, what are you afraid is going to happen?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid you might think I'm wrong for you after all, and you'd rather be with that guy."

Ariadne hugged him, all thoughts of anger behind her. "I won't leave you."

**The fourth time, it was comforting.**

Dom walked into the living room after tucking Phillipa and James into bed, noting that the silence meant Ariadne had hung up the phone after talking to her aunt.

He hadn't expected to see her crying.

He kneeled down in front of where she sat on the couch. "Baby, what's wrong?"

She wiped away a few tears, but couldn't look him in the eyes. "My dad…"

Understanding flickered in his eyes. Ariadne's father had lost the battle with cancer. He sat next to her, and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his shoulder, her body shaking violently from muffled sobs.

"Hush…" He whispered, tightening his hold on her. "It'll all be okay, I promise."

She clung to him like a life preserver, her shrieks quieted by his soft whispers. He shifted his hold on her so he was cradling her in his arms, it was easy since she was so small.

In the midst of everything she cried herself to sleep, lulled by his voice and embrace.

He sighed and hugged her closer, sending a prayer to Ariadne's father in heaven. _I promise, _he thought. _I will take care ,of your daughter._

**The fifth time, she said it.**

"So, this Effron guy escaped the Disney trap and did a movie called _Charlie St. Cloud_, and Phillipa wants to see it, should we let her?" Cobb asked Ariadne.

"Hell no, that is PG-13, and you don't want her innocence ruined." She scoffed.

"Really?" he said, leaning closer to her. "What do they do in this PG-13 movie?"

She looked at him from underneath her eyelashes. "Like kissing…"

The two leaned forward until their lips touched, moving in unison. Their hands went to the back of each other's necks, holding each other close.

"And what else did they do?" He murmured as they pressed their foreheads together.

"Want to find out?" She whispered.

"Or should we keep it PG-13?" He said with a smile.

"Oh, hush."

**Announcement ahead!**

**I'm now taking requests for Live to Love. Yep, I am. The following two rules apply:**

**1. For now keep it T and under, I may change that later.**

**2. Please be patient, it may take me a while to update my fics.**

**Okay, that's all the rules.**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey, I made a Halloween one-shot, might as well make a Christmas one.**

**Author name:** AmberLiz

**One-shot 3**

**Story name: **Winter

**Rating: **T

**Pairing: **Dom/Ari with slight Eames/Arthur

**Disclaimer: **Inception is Christopher Nolan's, not mine.

"**Lovers, forget your love And list to the love of these She a window flower And he a****winter****breeze ...****"**

**~Robert Frost**

The bright Californian sunlight seeped in through the square window in their bedroom, giving her the knowledge that it was indeed daytime and she couldn't stay on the bed huddled up to him forever. She reluctantly slid out of the grip of his arms, determined to get to the bathroom first so he couldn't hog it and take up too much time like he normally did. Moving as quietly as she could, she tiptoed to the pale blue bathroom to shower and freshen up.

Half-dressed, Ariadne looked over at the sleeping Dominic on the bed. It was in her assertive nature to not let him sleep all day, so she scooted across the bed until she sat next to him, gently stroking his cheek. Suddenly his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her down next to him. He cut off her yelp of surprise by pressing his lips to hers.

"You sneaky little girl." He murmured, "Where did you think you were going?"

"We have to get up, Dom." She giggled, feigning struggling. "We can't just stay in bed all day, we have to get to the airport this afternoon."

"Yeah, this _afternoon_." He pointed out, pulling her closer and nuzzling his chin on the top of her head. "The kids are at Miles's house, think of all the time we have to ourselves."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, Dom, if you get up now, I can promise you an entire night at the lodge."

He tilted her face up to look into her eyes. "Promise?" He asked with a childish grin.

"Yeah."

"I'm up!" He declared, letting her go and running to the bathroom. Ariadne laughed, Phillipa and James had definitely rubbed off on that man.

* * *

"Where are Eames and Arthur?" He asked, sitting next to Ariadne at the airport terminal.

"I have no clue." She huffed. They sighed and sipped their coffees in unison.

"Oh, look." He pointed at two men apparently arguing.

"You sure that's them?"

"I'd recognize that kind of annoyance from a mile away, Ari." Eames and Arthur walked up to them, dragging their suitcases and scowling at each other.

"Sorry we're late." Arthur snapped. "_Someone_ had to stop and get a frosty at Wendys."

"Don't worry about it." Ariadne interrupted before arguing could ensue again, "If the plane hasn't left yet, you're not late."

"Speaking of that," Cobb looked at his watch. "The plane should be boarding anytime now."

"_Flight 207 now boarding._"

"You have a knack for this." Ariadne joked, playfully elbowing him.

"I do, don't I?" The four of them stood up and gave the airline employee their tickets before striding onto the plane.

Ariadne rolled her eyes as she heard Eames and Arthur arguing about the window seat behind them. "Will they ever stop?" she whispered to Dom.

"We're men, you're lucky I gave you _our_ window seat." He smirked.

She shook her head with a grin on her face. "You're lucky I love you."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "I know." He sighed as she dozed off in his arms. "You're so cute when you're sleeping." He whispered, using his other arm to brush her hair behind her ears.

"Ow!" Arthur yelped. He glanced through the crack between his and Ariadne's seats to see Arthur glare at Eames.

"What, you got your window seat!"

"Yeah, but the kid behind me is a kicker!"

"Well that's karma, darling."

"Would you two grow up?" Cobb growled.

"I will once that kid stops kicking, you know what, that's it." Arthur twisted around in his seat and looked over the top of the seat. "Hey, can you get your kid to stop treating my seat like a soccer ball?" Then his dark eyes widened and he dropped back onto his seat as a much larger man stood up.

"You got a problem with my son?" He snapped, glaring at Arthur with beady eyes.

"N-no, not at all-" Arthur stammered while Eames cackled madly in his seat.

"Sir, could you sit down, the plane is about to take off." A flight attendant told the man. He grunted and sat back down.

"Eames, stop laughing." Arthur grumbled.

"Classic." Eames said between laughs.

Cobb rolled his eyes and glanced at Ari, hoping all the noise hadn't woken her up. She was still sound asleep against his shoulder.

"Do you need a blanket for her?" The flight attendant asked them, smiling about how adorable the pair of them looked.

"Sure." He smiled in a silent thanks as she handed him a navy blue blanket. He unwrapped the blanket and tucked it around Ariadne.

A second flight attendant smiled at the first one. "How cute are they?" she asked.

"It's been a while since I've seen two people so in love."

* * *

Ariadne woke up in the middle of the flight, looking up at Dom from under her eyelashes, she yawned quietly.

He looked over and softly rubbed her shoulders. "Hi there, sweetheart." He murmured "Sleep well?"

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "You could say that. How much longer until we land?"

"Maybe an hour." He smiled at her, "Bet you feel bad about making me get up now?"

"Nuh-uh." She giggled "Remember what I promised you?"

"How could I forget?" He asked.

"Excuse me darlings, did I just hear a too-much-information moment?" Eames piped up from behind them.

"Shut up, Eames."

* * *

"Can we get our suitcases off this carousel quickly, I think I see the guy and his kicking demon of a kid!" Arthur yelped, trying to hide behind Eames.

"You shouldn't tick off a bodybuilder, darling."

"What did I miss when I was sleeping?" Ariadne asked Dom.

"You don't want to know." He answered, pulling their luggage off the steel carousel with Eames just barely helping. The four of them left the airport, Arthur being skittish about the 'bodybuilder' man.

"Okay, Cobb, do you have a reservation for Bert's Rent-a-car over there?" Eames asked, pointing at the car rental building.

"Jesus, it's cold up in the mountains." Ariadne hissed, shivering.

Cobb wrapped one arm around her small waist, pressing her to his side. "Yeah, I have a reservation for it, we'll go fill out the paperwork, you and Arthur pick out the car." He said, leading them to the building.

Arthur turned to Eames as Cobb and Ariadne went inside to fill out the paperwork. "Alright let's get this straight, no jeeps, none at all."

"But look at that one over there, it's completely badass!" Eames protested.

"We aren't looking for badass, we're looking for a car that hopefully has heating!"

"Who says jeeps don't?"

"They have detachable doors, and they're stupid!"

"What about that hummer?"

"No- wait a minute, that actually is cool."

"Come on, let's go pick out a color!"

Cobb and Ariadne walked out of the building to see Eames and Arthur stride towards them.

"We found the best car!" Eames announced.

"It better be good, we have it for a week." Cobb huffed.

"Oh, trust me, it is, it has GPS and everything." Arthur pointed out. Eames and Arthur led the couple to a huge black hummer.

"How the hell am I supposed to get up there, look at me, I'm freaking tiny!" Ariadne protested.

"Your lovey can help you there, but c'mon please let us get this!" Eames begged them.

Cobb glanced down at Ariadne. "I'll make it up to you, Ari." He huffed. "You can get this one, but I'm driving."

"Yes!"

* * *

Ariadne crossed her arms as Cobb drove the huge hummer, following the GPS's directions to the ski lodge. She couldn't lie, she loved the physical parts of their relationship, but now _every _time they had to drive somewhere on this vacation, he would have to pick her up and put her in her seat.

He glanced over at her and smirked at her expression. "I know you, Ari, you can't stay mad at me forever."

"I know." She grumbled.

"Is my accent as annoying as the GPS chick's?" Eames wondered aloud.

"It's worse." said Arthur.

"Jealous, darling?"

"Like hell I am."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're here." Ariadne piped up as Cobb pulled into the ski lodge parking lot.

"Alright, it's freezing out there, we need a game plan." Dom said as he parked the hummer.

"Me and the brit will get the luggage out of the back, you and Ari go get us checked in, we all meet in the lobby and if any of us freeze, call 911." Arthur planned.

"Alright, let's go, try not to die." The four leaped out of the car, (for Ariadne, it was a literal leap,) and bolted for their destinations.

Cobb and Ariadne shook snow off their shoes in the heated lobby, thanking god that they had brought winter gear up there.

"I'm going to go check us in, try not to get in too much trouble." He said, lightly putting her hair behind her ears.

"I'll try to stay safe." She joked, smiling up at him. He kissed her forehead and walked to the front desk to check them in.

She sat on the green loveseat in the lobby, watching antler-themed chandelier rotate in the smallest of movements before Eames and Arthur ran inside, dragging the suitcases. "Hey," She called out "I'll take it it's cold out there."

Eames glared at her. "Next time, you're staying outside longer."

"Okay, room five." Cobb announced, showing the key to them. "Arthur, you have the spare." He tossed him the second key. "Let's go check it out."

* * *

The room had two bedrooms, and one bathroom, once you walked in you could see a refrigerator, counters, cabinets, an oven, a microwave, and a dishwasher to the left, and to the right, in the wider side of the room was a pull out couch, a TV, the stationary kit, the door to the bathroom, and a closet with minor supplies. On the other side of the room was a large window that displayed the mountain landscape and falling snow with the doors to the two bedrooms next to it.

"Eames gets the pull out."

"Hey, you got the window seat!"

"Eames, if you take the pull out, you're closer to the bathroom." Ariadne pointed out.

"The pull out is mine."

* * *

Cobb smiled at Ariadne as she put her snow goggles on. They were all hitting the slopes of course, and they were wearing white as a reminder of the third dream level from the inception job. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Have I told you how adorable you are in that snowsuit?"

She smirked "I'm always adorable to you, aren't I?"

"Right you are." He said, smiling.

Eames knocked on their bedroom door. "Are you two ready or are you getting it on?"

Ariadne grinned. "Oh yeah, we're getting it on like mad in here."

"Better not disturb us." Cobb added.

"Very funny, get out here." Arthur called out.

"C'mon, let's go." Cobb said, grabbing Ariadne's gloved hand and leading her out into the room to follow Eames and Arthur to the slopes.

"So cold…" Arthur hissed, zipping his coat up tighter against the frigid air.

"Okay, so skiing, boarding, or tubing first?" Eames asked.

"Tubing, I used to love it when I was a kid." Ariadne said.

"Let's do that first then." Cobb agreed. The other two agreed and they went to the tubing slopes.

"Green tube!" Arthur announced, grabbing his selected ride from the stack of tubes. Eames grabbed a red, Cobb a blue, and Ariadne a purple.

"Which slope first, mates?" Eames asked.

"I'm not starting at the bunny hill, I'm going for the big slopes." Ariadne piped up, grinning.

Cobb smiled and said "Just don't get your pretty face smashed."

"Maybe you should go with me then, they let two go down at the same time if we hold onto each other's tubes." Ariadne pointed out.

"Let's do that then."

"Inseperable." Eames muttered, shaking his head, as they all went for the lift that would drag them to the tops of the slopes.

"Which one first?" Cobb asked once they were at the top of the slope as Eames and Arthur ran off to one of the higher slopes.

"What about that one?" Ariadne asked, pointing to a twisty-turny slope called the cyclone.

"Positive you want to do that one?"

"Why, scared?"

Cobb grinned. "Never."

The two walked over to the slope. The teenage boy watching the path looked over at them. "You two going down together?"

"Yeah." Ariadne answered.

"Alright, sit on your tubes, hold onto each other's tubes, and I'll spin you two down." They did as they were told and the teenager pushed them forward at an angle that sent them spinning down the snowy slope.

Ariadne screamed and closed her eyes, laughing along with Dom as the wind buffeted them and snow went flying. They were breathing heavily and laughing by the time they skidded to a halt at the bottom of the slope, laughing and gazing into eachother's eyes, Ariadne laughed "We have to do that again."

Cobb pointed over her shoulder, "Look over there." Ariadne twisted around and giggled upon seeing Eames and Arthur spin down a slope together.

"Who would've thought it?"

* * *

"And then Eames and the kid on the bunny hill-"

"That kid will be mentally scarred for life now."

"I know, poor guy!"

"And you should've seen your face on dead man's hill, when we almost hit that tree!"

"That tree shouldn't have been there in the first place."

Cobb and Ariadne laughed, now in warm pajamas in their room, reminiscing about the events of the day. She sat down on the bed and smiled, "A whole week of this, it should be fun."

He sat beside her. "You know it will be." Then he smirked, "By the way, I believe you promised me something."

"I agree." She smiled, scooting closer to him. "I hope this is a slightly soundproof room."

He grinned, "If it isn't, they'll live."

**This was really fun to write, I hope you like it.**

**Please review!**

**Happy Holidays!**

**AmberLiz.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I wanted to write a dark story. Nuff said.**

**Author name: **AmberLiz

**One-shot Four**

**Pairing: **DomxAri

**Rating: **T

**Story Name: **Edge of Darkness

**Story Summary:**

Like rubber bands, they'd pull each other away from the cliff, at the edge of the darkness in their minds.

* * *

**Edge of Darkness**

"**There's a god shaped hole in all of us,**

**And the restless soul is searching."**

**~ God Shaped Hole – Plumb ~**

It was a year after the Inception job that both of them had regained the ability to have dreams. Abnormal dreams at that. If anything is classified as a normal dream it's a talking snake asking for a cupcake as you stand on the shore of a purple lake. But these dreams were turmoil, constant states of danger, bloodied walls and dark old rooms. Gunfire and pasty white corpses that sometimes stood still, their hollow eye sockets seeing nothing and would reach out at them from time to time.

Ariadne didn't tell Dominic how much torture her dreams could be, sometimes seeing her dead family could put her in tears. She'd wake up and remember them to be gone, and she'd want the vivid and almost cruel dream back. When a dream ever got that bad she would wiggle out of Dom's arms and slip downstairs to try and find something to keep her awake. All the time she felt comforted with Dom there, but she didn't want him to see her cry.

Dominic didn't tell anyone of his dreams. He assumed it was a trick of his head, a slip of his thoughts in his mind. But then they became vivid, horrifying dreams filled with the monsters of his past; the crashing sea next to crumbling buildings and a sly French woman with a curved knife. Even his fears became present in his dreams, he feared hurting anyone he loved whether it was Phillipa, James or even Ari. Those dreams were worse than any of the torture that the Mal or limbo dreams could do. Whenever he woke up before Ariadne did, he'd look at her as she slept close to him and draw her closer because merely holding her helped him tell the difference between dreams and reality.

One night brought an end to their silence. Dom woke up and Ariadne wasn't there. His blue eyes widened in a slight terror, and he sat up, holding his head in his hands.

_"You'd hate to lose her, wouldn't you?" A sadistic Mal whispered to him, absently twirling the knife in her hand by the hilt._

_ Dominic narrowed his eyes. "What is it to you?" He asked "I said goodbye a long time ago."_

_ Mal raised her eyebrows "In limbo?"_

_ Dom shook his head. "The day you died. You left me, and there is no reason to let you haunt me anymore."_

_ Mal laughed a mad cruel laugh. "Maybe not you, but what about Ari?"_

_ Dom's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" he growled warily._

_ She moved forwards slowly, lightly placing her free hand on the side of his face. "Naïve Dom… how do you know I don't haunt her as well?"_

_ He stepped back, away from her. "Leave us alone, Mal."_

He shook his head, wanting to forget Mal's words. He couldn't bear the thought of Mal hurting Ariadne, or _anything_ hurting Ariadne for that matter. He wanted her to be safe and unharmed, not tortured like he had been. He got up from the bed, quietly passing Phillipa and James's rooms and walking down the chestnut-colored stairs, squinting to adjust his eyes to the kitchen light. In the living room he saw Ariadne sitting on the couch, half asleep with her eyes just barely glued to the TV.

"Hey." He softly called out to draw her attention to him. She jumped at first, startled at her sudden appearance and looked at him wide-eyed for a moment.

"Hi." She responded quietly, leaning back into the couch.

"What're you doing up?" He asked, sitting beside her and brushing her brown hair away from her pale face.

"Just uh, watching… infomercials." She said slowly, gesturing at the TV. Dom knew she was hiding something, he knew her better than anyone.

"You know you can tell me if something is wrong, right?" He whispered, kissing her cheek tenderly.

She bit her lip softly, closing her eyes. She could barely nod, just thinking about the nightmare where she'd been in a hallway, surrounded by mutilated corpses of everyone she had ever loved, every turn sending horror down her spine and screams out of her throat.

"Ari, open your eyes." Dom demanded quietly. She trembled, afraid of what he'd think when she opened her eyes and showed him just how red they were from crying. He switched off the TV and hooked one finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look at him. "Ariadne."

She opened her eyes reluctantly, her eyelids fluttering with the want to doze off. He took in just how hollow those eyes looked, red and dark with bruise-like circles under her eyes. His were no different. His blue eyes didn't contain their usual warmth, instead they were eerily piercing, looking just as pained as hers.

"What's bothering you?" Dom whispered, wrapping his arms around her, gently rubbing her back.

"I've been having nightmares." She admitted, pressing her eyelids close together when Dom pulled back, keeping his hands around her upper arms.

"Ariadne, look at me." He demanded again. She opened her eyes warily, unsure of what he was thinking. "What are you dreaming about?"

"My parents and sometimes… sometimes I just see… I just see…" She couldn't bring herself to say it, literally pained by the thought of her dreams. She had once had just a terrible dream that she was in a dark room, her legs torn apart and bloody that had rendered her unable to stand. All she could do was crawl in that room until she found Dom's body, a curved knife stuck in his chest. She had screamed over and over again, holding his cold form to hers as hysteria took over.

Just thinking about that brought all of her panic back. She tried to struggle away from him, remembering how much she didn't want him to see her cry. He stubbornly pulled her to him, holding her gently as she stopped trying to wiggle out of his arms.

"It's okay, it's okay." He murmured, thinking back to his own torturous delusions. "I get them too."

"You do?" she sobbed, her body shuddering with fearful tears.

"Yes." Dom whispered "They scare me too…"

They sat there in the dark living room for a while, sheltering from the storm of fear in each other's arms, knowing it had been a while since either of them had ever been scared of something so much.

"Let me help you." He insisted, "We can help each other. All you have to do is tell me what scares you so badly in your nightmares."

"Sometimes… I see you… _hurt_." That was the only word she could use. Dead was a word that she didn't dare approach in her mind.

"Well I'm right here, perfectly intact last time I checked." He whispered.

"Are we going mad?" She asked.

"If this is madness, I've been insane for a long time." He paused for a moment, needing to confess his fears. "In mynightmares… it's usually Mal threatening to _hurt_ you."

"Mal is gone. She can't really hurt either of us." Ariadne pointed out.

"See?" Dom asked with a smile "We can help each other. It'll all be fine, you'll see." Ariadne nodded weakly. Dom got up and held his hand out to her. "Come on, let's go back to sleep, I promise it'll all be okay."

That night as they slept close together, surrounded by each other's loving embrace, the nightmares faded away to be replaced with the 'normal' dreams of singing bunnies and fields of blue grass. Because like rubber bands, they had pulled each other away from the edges of darkness and were never haunted by their fears again just by knowing they weren't alone in the turmoil of subconscious terror. And every time they woke up to each other's smiling faces, they felt like nothing in the world could hurt them.

**Author's note: Apparently I have given up on sleeping… it's FIVE. AM. OH. MY. GOD.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I was sugar rushed when I wrote this, so it's probably not that good.**

**Author Name: **AmberLiz

**One shot 5**

**Story name: **Combat Training

**Summary: **Ariadne needs combat training and Cobb is just the man to teach her.

**Rating: **T

**Pairing: **Dom/Ari

**Combat Training**

Dominic rounded the corner of the dark basement walls, clutching his pistol tightly in the cold labyrinth until his knuckles stood out white. He looked behind him to check for pursuers, his icy blue gaze evaluating each shadow carefully. He faced forward again at the sound of footsteps ahead of him, raising his gun in case the enemy was making his way towards him. No, the steps were heading away from him, which meant they were facing a different direction.

He knew perfectly well who he was targeting; he'd seen Eames take down Arthur mere moments before Dom himself had shot Eames. Ariadne was the target now. He rounded the corner slowly, she was facing away from him as he suspected. At the sound of his steps she whipped around, raising her handgun to attempt to shoot him before he shot her.

He hit the gun out of her hands easily, snatching her around the waist with one arm when she tried to dodge out of the way. Defenseless, she writhed in his grip before he pressed the pistol to her head, clearly having the advantage.

"I surrender?" She squeaked, widening her dark eyes.

"Nice try." He laughed, smiling at her attempts to appear innocent. "See you up there." He dismissed her, firing the gun on her first, then on himself.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Dom asked as they woke up in the lawn chairs, feeling slightly guilty about how roughly he'd grabbed her.

"Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm delicate." She growled defensively, straightening her scarf around her neck.

He put his hands up as though he was being arrested. "_Sor_ry. Just instinct."

"No, it's okay." She sighed, patting his shoulder somewhat awkwardly. "You're a dad, it's normal to be overprotective."

He scrunched his eyebrows. "I'm not _over_protective."

Ariadne lowered her eyes suddenly. "I'm not very good am I?" She asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" He leaned closer to her chair in a silent plea for her to look up at him again.

"It's how small I am, isn't it?.. I just feel like I can't keep up with you guys sometimes." She brushed her brown hair behind her ear, "I don't want to sit this job out though, really." The new mark for the team was the vice president for Anderson Energy, a company rivaling one of Arthur's acquaintances who had called the team in, and he had been trained to have a defensive subconscious much like Fischer's. The sedatives wouldn't be a problem, but they couldn't have everyone waking up and failing before they had the chance to extract what the energy company's president had entrusted to his vice. So as a solution they'd started combat training, and Ariadne had wanted to see how her new physics would work and be believable, as she wanted to apply the same technique to her designs in reality.

"Come on, Ariadne." Dom said gently, "All you need is practice, that's what training is for."

"But you practically annihilated me like it was the easiest thing in the world!"

It certainly _wasn't_ the easiest thing, he didn't like shooting his teammates, even if it was harmless. Ariadne was the hardest to fight, putting a gun to her head terrified him mentally. He shook his head to clear the thoughts of actually hurting the girl he owed so much to and focused on the fact that she didn't seem as full of confidence as usual.

"Look, we all promised we'd take the day off tomorrow, so just get your mind off of it for a bit, you might have an easier time next session." He suggested, getting up to put his navy blue coat on.

"Are you sure?" She asked, raising her thin eyebrows at him.

"Positive. See you later."

* * *

Ariadne had been lying on her couch when the idea came to her, listening to the faint buzz of the TV on a low volume and counting all the spots on the ceiling where it looked like the light paint had dripped. Her mind kept flickering as to how she could match the boys in combat, and then finally she had a plan.

Hoping desperately that he wasn't busy, she sat up and scooped the phone off of the coffee table, dialing his number unsurely and almost nervously.

"Hello?" His voice sounded weighed down with sleep, and she hoped she hadn't woken him up, it was eight AM though, even with them having the day off he would probably be awake with his kids.

"Cobb, I kind of have a favor to ask." She rushed.

"What is it?"

She hesitated a moment. What if he said no? What if this was too demanding? She pushed her doubts away long enough to ask the question. "Well… I was thinking about training and I had this thought… could you teach me how to fight?"

"…Ari, you-"

"Come on, you're the most skilled fighter on the team, if anyone can teach me you can." There was a long pause on his end of the phone. "Please, Dom?" She pleaded, using his first name to her advantage.

"Fine, meet me at the warehouse in an hour."

"Okay, first off, you have to be more aware of your surroundings." He instructed her, handing her one of the two guns he held. They were in the basement-like maze the team always used for training, it basic enough for all of them to focus on what they were doing. "Do you remember how easy it was for me to sneak up on you last time? It's because you weren't paying enough attention. Had you been listening, you would've heard me moving."

"I thought projections would just rush into combat instead of having the brains to be stealthy."

"When your mind has been trained as well as our marks, the projections can have tactics all on their own. That's why we have to be careful." He walked away from her, around one of the gray walls. "I'm going to try and sneak up on you, try to kill me before I catch you."

"Just don't go easy on me." She called back, unsure of how far he'd gotten from her. She moved around slowly, attempting to not make any noise. Could he see her now? Was he following her? Was he at the other side of the maze? She glanced around warily, trying to be prepared for him to jump out at her.

She finally reached one end of the maze where a thick gray wall stood up, a dark doorway leading to a room they all agreed to use as a hiding spot but Eames seemed to always use as a place to kick the door in and scare the hell out of anyone nearby.

The slight wonder if Dom was hiding in the smaller room overtook her, and she raised the pistol in defense as she opened the door with her foot. The room was empty and the door hit the wall, proving no one was hiding behind it. With a low sigh of frustration as to where he would be hiding she started to back up only for her back to hit something she was positive was not a wall.

Before she could face him, he had one arm around her and the other reaching down so his hands could grab hers and thwart her from using the gun.

"You said not to go easy on you." He said innocently as she shot him a frustrated glance. She took a few steps away when he finally let her go, thinking.

"Okay, now I want to try being stealthy." Ariadne twirled the gun in her hands, blushing when she realized she'd seen him do that multiple times.

"Fine by me." Dom agreed, striding off again. Now this she could use to her advantage, her small size could finally give her the upper hand as she would make less noise going after him.

She hung back just enough so she could hear his footsteps over the pounding of blood in her ears and stayed out of sight, jumping back whenever she felt she was getting too close. Just as he hid from her, she couldn't let him find her first.

Finally he seemed distracted by choosing which way to go on a three-way fork, and she slid forward until she was directly behind him. Hardly daring to breathe, she raised the gun and poked him in the shoulder with it. Cleverly dodging when he whipped around, her hand darted out and caught the pistol before he could shoot her and pointed her gun at him with a look of glee on her face.

"Would that work?" She asked hopefully.

"If you had shot me instead of poking me, yes." He answered, a small smile of pride on his face. "Come on, let's try something different."

Ariadne was certain she'd made a good choice. Cobb was a skilled teacher, kindly correcting her at faults and giving helpful advice when Ari needed it, and at the same time strict enough to keep her focused on what she was doing and how to do it.

"What if you don't have a gun?" She asked, putting her own on the ground.

"I'm not going to start hitting you, Ari." He growled, pressing his eyebrows together and running one hand through his blonde hair.

"I'm not saying you have to do _that_," She huffed "I just want to know what to do if a projection disarms me."

"Well, if the projection has a gun and you don't, the first thing you'll want to do is disarm them." He lifted the gun with both hands as though he was about to shoot her. "So try to do that with me."

She twisted to the side in a move similar to dodging a bullet and shot her hands out to grab the gun and wrench it out of his hands, but he dodged to the side still aiming at her. Determined to not lose, she chased after him while trying to stay out of the path a bullet would take. At some point in the dance the two had formed, her back hit a wall, nearly driving the breath out of her. He stood close, his body pinning hers to the wall with one hand perched on the concrete above her head and the other pointing the gun at her.

"I didn't know you were going to do _that_." She breathed, stunned.

"The element of surprise can make all the difference in the world." He said, raising his eyebrows at her. "But if a projection did this, you would've lost instantly."

A quick idea came to her mind. It was daring and she didn't want to risk losing his trust in her, but somehow she felt the nerve to do it. She stood on her tiptoes and fully kissed Dominic Cobb.

His eyes widened at her sudden move. Shocked, he dropped the gun and his hands instinctively fell so his arms were around her. He couldn't lie, he liked Ariadne more than just a friend, but had kept his distance due to the age difference between them and the doubts that she actually liked him after seeing the horrors of his mind.

"The element of surprise." She mocked playfully, pulling back and gazing at his dazed expression.

"I… hope that isn't your tactic for fighting."

"It seems to be effective." She joked, raising one eyebrow. "Unless you'd be _jealous_, then you could teach me a different way."

"Damn right I am." He growled, pressing his lips to hers again.

**Author's Note: See that button? Below this text? Those who click that button and leave their opinion about this one-shot get pie… or something, I dunno.**


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